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Highlights Report: 2009 Social-Networking Survey August 2010

About This Report

Enthusiastic: Young adults, specifically Experiencers, are the most engaged in social networking and the most enthusiastic about Facebook.

Worried: Young adults are also concerned about posting information on Facebook that others could easily misunderstand. Many young adults regret previous postings.

Bored: Mature adults are somewhat less engaged than young adults because they are often bored by information they receive and find commenting on friends' posts a chore.

Highlights Report: 2009 Social-Networking Survey presents findings from a large, volunteer, opt-in online survey of social-networking users—users of Facebook, in particular. Individuals from over 250 U.S. colleges and universities in 49 states participated.

The VALS™ Framework is the primary basis for analysis. Five of the eight VALS groups—Innovators, Thinkers, Achievers, Strivers, and Experiencers—have sufficient sample sizes to provide statistically reliable data.

Table of Contents

About the Online Survey 1
About the Survey Sample 2
Social-Networking Sites 4
Reasons for Engaging in Online Social Networking 6
Facebook 8
Facebook Attitudes 11
Facebook Behaviors 13
Facebook Friends 14
Privacy on Facebook 16
Summary 17
Appendix: College and University Participation 18